


Hidden Talent

by Queenscene2



Category: Voltron: Lion Force (1984)
Genre: Gen, I got inspired by listening to the cuphead soundtrack, Keith & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Keith Centered, Mentions of PTSD and Anxiety, There's like 2 Ace Attorney references hfakjdkfha, angsty, but they make up at the end, headcanon that Keith can tap dance, keith and lance fight, same, shocking, so here we go, some kallura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24367351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenscene2/pseuds/Queenscene2
Summary: The team finds out something new about their commander, Keith.
Relationships: Allura/Keith (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Hidden Talent

**Author's Note:**

> Rated T+ for some strong language

“Just give it up, Lotor! You’ve lost yet again!” Keith shouted confidently. “Never!” Lotor retorted. “The Princess will be mine, one day!” “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell it to your teddy bear, bird brain.” Lance sassed.

Voltron had defeated yet another one of Lotor’s robeasts. The five pilots cheered in victory as the robeast lay motionless on the ground below. Voltron disbanded, and the pilots guided their lions home for the day.

The five headed back into the castle. “Damn, am I glad to be back!” Hunk said as the five walked into the foyer. He pointed straightforward. “I’ll be at the fridge.” He said and power walked out.

“It’s Friday night…and you know what that means!” Pidge said excitedly. “Yes, yes. We know. It’s board game night.” Lance said, patting him on the head as if he was some 5 year old. “You all ready for me to kick your asses in Catan again?” Allura giggled. “From what I remember, you finished in last place with 4 points!”

“Details, baby girl, details.” Lance said, brushing his embarrassment off. “Wait, did you say it was Friday?” Keith asked. The three other pilots gave him a look. Keith got defensive. “W-What?” he asked. “I don’t keep track of the days of the week _all_ the time!” he said defensively.

“Yes you do. You’re Keith.” Lance said crossing his arms.

“As a matter of fact, it is Friday night. It’s currently 7:13 pm, if you really care that much.” Pidge said, looking down at his watch.

“Oh…uhhh…” Keith said, his face flushing red. “I…gotta go.” He said. He turned to leave when Lance called out to him. “And where the hell are you going? It’s board game night!”

Keith shut his eyes, thinking about what to say. He couldn’t tell them what he was doing. What if they made fun of him? I mean, they already make fun of him, but this would give them too much leverage to use against him.

He turned around. “Uh…I have a…date.” he lied. He mentally facepalmed. He hated lying to his teammates. “Liar.” Lance simply said. _Dammit. I forgot he had that…ability._ Keith thought to himself.

“I mean it…I have a date.” He said more confidently, hoping Lance would buy it. He didn’t. Lance shook his head. “You’re a terrible liar, dude. Your left pointer finger twitches whenever you lie.” He said pointing to Keith’s left hand.

“I-I don’t have time for this! This is official and confidential commander business!” he said, flustered. “I’ll see you later!” He ran off, his face red as his jumpsuit.

Lance, Allura and Pidge simply looked at each other and shrugged.

~

The other pilots began to notice strange things happening to their commander. He was more impatient than usual, he would shuffle around when he was standing still, and he would go missing every Monday and Friday nights.

“Maybe he has a secret love affair.” Hunk suggested one night when Keith wasn’t there. Allura glared at the thought. She wasn’t too fond of her crush sneaking off to…escapade with some other girl. “If so, then why does he leave on a schedule? Wouldn’t they want to get it on anytime of the week?” Pidge asked. “Hmmm. Good point. I didn’t think of that.” Hunk said, rubbing his nonexistent beard. “Shocking.” Lance teased.

Finally, one Friday evening, the boys and Allura decided to follow him. Keith had excused himself for the fourth week in a row now, missing yet another board game night. The four followed their commander to the small city in downtown Arus, sneaking in the shadows of the buildings.

The four hid behind a giant stone flowerpot, which gloriously displayed Arus’ native flora. They saw Keith walk into an unmarked building that, from the outside, looked abandoned. “What the hell is he doing? Move your big butt, Hunk! I can’t see a thing!” Pidge whisper-yelled. “Maybe he’s selling crack!” Hunk exclaimed. “They don’t have crack here on Planet Arus, dumbass!” Lance hissed, angry that Hunk would accuse his best friend of some heinous crime.

Allura’s eyes wandered to one of the nearby lamp posts that was nearest to where they were hiding out. Her eyes landed on something familiar. She got up from their hiding spot and walked over to inspect it.

“Uh, guys?” she called out to them. The boys were too busy fighting about what Keith could be doing in the abandoned building to hear her call out to them. “Guys!” she said a little louder. They ignored her again.

“GUYS!” She screamed at the top of her lungs…maybe a little _too_ loudly. The three boys turned to her and shushed her. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, just get over here! You guys got to see this.”

“What did you find, Princess?” Pidge asked. He was the first one to leap up and walk over to her. Lance and Hunk followed shortly after. Allura’s blue eyes sparkled. “Look!” she exclaimed pointing up.

The three looked up to see a poster. A poster of—

“Wait…is that…?”

“KEITH?!”

The three stared in confusion and in awe at a poster of Keith smiling as big as he could, wearing a tuxedo and a top hat instead of his normal Garrison-issued commander uniform. In one hand he had a cane, and in the other he had his arm around some petite blonde girl sporting the same type of smile as him and wearing a flapper style dress.

The poster had a vintage look to it, giving the show a 1920s feel. The poster read: **“The Amazing Tap-Man and Miss Swing in: Swing in the Spring! One night only! Friday May 11 th at 7:30 pm at His Majesty’s Theater!”**

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing…” Pidge said. He started laughing. “How dorky!” “I didn’t even know the Chief could dance, let alone tap dance.” Hunk said. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating.

Allura turned to Lance. “Lance, you’ve known Keith for years. Did you know about this?” she asked. Lance was at a loss for words. He shrugged and opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it when nothing came out.

He was kind of upset. Why _didn’t_ Keith tell him? He saw him as an older brother and a best friend. They told each other everything. He wouldn’t have made fun of him for it!

…Okay, maybe he would have, but that’s no excuse for Keith not to share this with him.

Talkative Lance was eerily quiet as the four walked back to the castle that night. “I still can’t believe it.” Hunk said. “Yeah, me neither!” Pidge exclaimed. “I’m more inclined to believe your drug dealer story than that poster of Keith!”

Allura turned to Lance. She noticed that he wasn’t cracking jokes or roasting Keith with the others as he normally does. “You alright?” she asked the Lieutenant Commander. “Peachy.” was all he said.

~

Keith snuck back in the castle that night and walked straight to his room. He was all sweaty and needed a shower. He went to turn on the light and turned around.

“GAH!” he shrieked when he saw the four other pilots sitting on his bed with their arms crossed and smirks on their faces. “What the hell are you people doing in my room?!” 

“That’s not important. Where have _you_ been, Mister?!” Hunk asked as if he was a parent about to lecture his son. “I don’t see how that’s any of _your_ business.” The Commander retorted.

Hunk, Pidge, and Allura exchanged glances and smirked. Lance just stared at the far wall on his left with a sour look on his chiseled face. “Well, we just so happen to know what that business is.” Pidge said, laughing evilly. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Pidge held out one of the dance performance posters that they found on the ground on their way back to the castle. “Take That!” he yelled as if he were a defense attorney in a courtroom.

Keith’s face became red. He took the poster. “Oh…that…I uh…” he stammered. “Yeah, way to not tell your right hand man.” Lance spoke up. He had anger spewing out of every word he spoke. Keith stood there awkwardly. _I guess it’s time to come clean, Kogane._ He said to himself. “Uh, yeah. It’s true. I’m a tap dancer.” He handed Pidge back the poster.

The others were not angry, however, instead, they were fascinated, despite having made fun of him behind his back. “That’s pretty neat, Commander!” Pidge exclaimed. “It may be a bit dorky though, no offense.” He added the “no offense” to lighten the blow so that he wouldn’t further disrespect his superior.

Keith looked down. “Ah, yeah a little.” He said embarrassed. Allura smiled. “I think it’s sweet.” She said. Keith blushed. "Thanks, Princess." “How long have you been tap dancing?” Hunk asked. “Since I was 5. My mom enrolled me in tap lessons because I had weak ankles.” Keith confessed. “I really enjoy it. You guys coming?”

“Of course! We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Allura said happily. “Yeah, count me in Chief!” Hunk said. Pidge smiled brightly. The four turned to Lance who was still staring at that wall. “What about you, Lance?” Pidge prompted.

“Nah. I don’t go to performances of people who hide things from their best friend.” Lance hissed. Keith sighed. “Can you…give us a minute?” he said to the others.

Allura, Pidge, and Hunk nodded and went out the door. Keith sat next to Lance and rubbed his hands awkwardly.

“Look, I’m…sorry. It’s not like I didn’t want to tell you…but—” “But WHAT?!” Lance growled. He felt tears form in his eyes. “I thought we told each other everything, dude.” He said. He turned so that Keith would be talking to the back of his head.

Keith sighed. “I know, and it was dumb of me. I’m sorry.” He put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

“Listen, I know you’re upset, and I truly am sorry. I guess I just didn’t want you guys to tease me about it.” Keith explained. Lance didn’t move. _He’s silent. Not a good sign._ Keith thought. _Dammit. I really screwed up._

“Who else knew?” Lance asked softly. His head was turned a little bit in his direction. “What?” Keith asked. He didn’t hear him. “I said, who else knew?” Lance repeated. "Nobody." Keith said defensively. Lance looked down at Keith's index finger. It was twitching again. Keith looked down at his left hand. _Son of a bitch._ He had to confess. “Fine. Sven.” Keith stated.

Lance gaped. He turned toward Keith, looking him dead in the eye. “Sven?! You told Sven but not _me_?!” Lance was livid. Keith scooted back. He was _not_ in the mood to get socked in the face. “Hey, it’s not like I trust him more! I just—one day he asked and—”

“Nah, screw this shit. I’m out.” Lance said, heading toward the bedroom door. Keith put up his hands in exasperation. The two fought a lot for being best friends, but this was probably the worst fight they’ve been in.

~

The next few days passed with Lance not talking to Keith. Keith’s performance was that upcoming Friday, and he really wanted him to be there. He tried to do everything in his power to make up with Lance, but without any luck. He could see Lance’s walls rise up bigger and taller than they ever were before.

Lance, with everything that had happened to him in his life, found it hard to trust others. The one time he confides in someone, the one time he decides to open himself up and make a friend…and a close friend for that matter…and surprise, surprise, he was let down…again.

It was the evening of his performance, and Keith was nervous. Allura had bragged how she used her title to get the table closest to the stage so that she could see everything. He looked at his reflection backstage, wondering if Lance and he were cool yet. _He and I probably won’t be best friends anymore._ Keith thought. _He’ll probably quit the Voltron Force and go off and be a model like he always wanted to do. Damn Keith, you **failed.** You failed not only as a commander, you failed as a best friend._

Keith tried not to let his negative thoughts ruin his night. It was easy for him to fall into a panic attack since he was diagnosed with anxiety a couple of years ago, but he was determined to keep moving forward. Perfectionist Keith would never forgive himself if he didn’t perform his best tonight.

“Ready?” he heard his partner say to him. Keith nodded and stood up. He walked with her to the left wing of the stage. He shook himself so that he could loosen any unnecessary tension in his body.

 _“Now ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Amazing Tap-Man and Miss Swing!”_ he heard the announcer say over the PA. A wave of applause followed immediately after.

The two walked out smiling and getting into their starting positions. “YEAH KEITH! WOOOO!” he heard Hunk yell out.

The music started and Keith hit all of his moves perfectly. He lifted his partner in the air perfectly, not dropping her like he did a couple of weeks ago during practice.

He then started to do his tap dancing solo, getting a round of applause after he finished. He grinned even bigger as he nailed his routine.

The music started to slow down which indicated that the performance was almost over. He and his partner hit their final pose perfectly in time with the ending of the song, which made the entire audience stand and cheer.

He hugged his partner and the two bowed and waved to the crowd. He looked down and saw three of the four pilots cheer him on. He grinned.

He put a hand on the small of his partner’s back and the two strolled backstage. The show was over, and Keith was taking off his stage makeup in his dressing room when he heard slow clapping behind him.

He turned to see Lance leaning against the dressing room door frame. “Not bad, Kogane.” He said with a side smile. “You came!” Keith exclaimed. They did their secret best friend handshake. “Yeah. Sorry I was being such an asshole.” Lance said.

“When are you not?” Keith teased. Lance rolled his eyes. “I realized that you don’t need to tell me _everything._ Besides, _I_ didn’t even tell you about _my_ secret talent.” He bragged. Keith put his hands on his hips. “And what’s that? Chugging five mini Jack Daniels and still being able to walk straight? Cause you can’t.”

“Nope. Guess it will forever be a secret, sorry.” He said slyly. Keith smiled at him. “Still friends?” “Psh. The best.” Lance replied.

Lance turned around to leave when he stopped and turned back at Keith. “Hey, as your best friend, can I tell you something?”

Keith sighed, anticipating some type of insult. “Sure, why not.”

“Tap dancing _is_ super dorky.”

“Thanks, Lance.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey what's up you guys!...yes.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this! Hope you enjoyed it too.
> 
> This was inspired by me dancing improv in my basement to the Cuphead soundtrack (no shame), particularly the song "Dramatic Fanatic" which was originally gonna be the title of the fic, but ya gorl doesn't wanna be sued so
> 
> I'll smell ya later,  
> Sleep Deprived Queenscene2 is out. Peace!
> 
> Love,  
> Queenscene2


End file.
